This invention relates generally to batons, more particularly to a light-weight telescoping baton, and method of making the same, constructed from composite material for use by policeman in the field or during training exercises.
Expandable or telescoping batons are often carried by law enforcement officers or security personnel instead of the traditional, one-piece night stick. Typically, the traditional night stick is made of wood and is approximately 26 inches long and 11/4 inches in diameter. Long, one-piece night sticks are inconvenient to carry for obvious reasons.
Expandable batons have increased in popularity because, in the collapsed state, the overally length of the baton can be as short as eight or nine inches. Generally, expandable batons are constructed in sections which telescope. A tubular main section functions as a handle; progressively smaller, tubular sections fit within each other and can be collapsed into one another or expanded outward. When completely collapsed, the sections all fit within the handle section. When expanded, the sections are locked together, end-to-end, by friction fittings such as taper joints. When expanded, the overall length of the baton can be 18 to 20 inches.
Prior art expandable or telescoping batons are constructed from metal such as soft steel. Batons made from hard steel provide better service but are expensive to manufacture, as are batons constructed from alloy steel. Metal batons have notable drawbacks. The metal is prone to metal fatigue and can crack or rust. Furthermore, metal batons bear a close similarity to a piece of metal pipe, which is aesthetically unpleasing.
The unique composite expandable baton disclosed in my co-pending patent application Ser. No. 08/141,068, filed Oct. 26, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,363, alleviates many of the problems associated with prior art metal batons. However, injection molded composite telescoping batons can also suffer from joint fatigue and separation. I have determined that filament winding prohibits separation and structurally strengthens the joint. I have determined that baton components formed of a composite material by the continuous winding of glass and Kevlar.RTM. filaments in epoxy allows for the optimal winding of the filaments at the joint area so as to provide a structurally strengthened joint that resists joint fatigue and separation.
Furthermore, although a composite baton manufactured from injection molding has weight-to-strength characteristics superior to metal batons, I have determined that a baton constructed from a filament winding procedure creates a baton, that is virtually unbreakable in field use situations. Moreover, the walls of batons sections formed from a filament wound winding procedure can be thin resilient thereby decreasing the weight of the baton. Various filament winding angles applied in appropriate layers create a desired strength-to-weight ratio unachievable by using metal or injection molding composite materials.